Chance Meetings
by M. D. Jensen
Summary: Three times Remus Lupin has met this man... and two of the meetings have taken place in a lift on the way to level 22 in the Ministry of Magic building. Who is this man? Does Remus even know?


Disclaimer: I don't own Remus, but I do own this situation and my background on his lycanthropy, mmmkay?

Summary: Ten years apart, two lift rides take a similar turn.

****

Chance Meetings

Christine Lupin stood miserably in the lift of the Ministry of Magic headquarters. Small, violet notes flapped around her head, and tears fell down her face. Cradled in her arms was her five-year-old son Remus, fast asleep. Just looking at him brought more tears to her eyes, but when another man boarded the lift, she desperately swiped them away with her elbow. She had to be strong.

The man bowed his head kindly- "G'day to you, ma'am"- but seemingly as soon as he saw her present state, he quieted very quickly. Instead, his gaze turned on the voice box. He pressed the button, and spoke into the speaker. "Level Twenty-two," he said politely. "Ma'am?" he asked, without turning around. 

"Same floor," Christine told him quietly.

"Right then," the man confirmed, as, dutifully, as voice resounded through the lift: "Level Twenty-two: boggart assistance, Dark Creature assistance, werewolf registration…" 

At this last one Christine broke down again, and Remus woke up suddenly. She placed him gently on the floor and turned towards the back of the lift. Remus patted her back, and his sleeve fell back to reveal a moon-shaped scar on his forearm. 

The man looked on inquisitively, rubbing his shoulder, seemingly without realizing it. As if sensing his gaze, Remus turned to him, and the man frowned as he noticed the boy's bright and slanted yellow eyes and reddish hair with a grey streak already present near the back.

There was a sickening jolt suddenly, lurching them all from their thoughts and a voice chimed, "This lift had ceased operation, and should be repaired momentarily. We apologize for the inconvenience." The man looked up, they were stuck between floors 17 and 18. "Damn…" he mumbled. Christine suddenly sobbed again, harder, and he looked around at her.

"She'll be okay," Remus assured him. "She's just upset 'cause a few days ago I got bit and now I'm a were…"

"Don't talk to strangers," Christine cut in suddenly, turning around, eyes dry. 

"It's alright," the man assured her. "I am very sorry, ma'am."

Christine, obviously upset that he knew, nodded her thanks anyway and fell silent. Remus sighed in a very adult manner and patted her leg again. 

The man took a leap. "It's not that bad, you know," he said soothingly. "So you miss one day a month. It could be worse." He looked down and smiled warmly at Remus, who grinned back. 

"With due respect, sir, I don't know that you'd really underst…" But Remus cut her off.

"Are you a werewolf, too, Mister?" He asked happily. 

"Uh-huh," the man said lightly. Christine's eyes shot up. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, it didn't know, I…" She murmured quickly, but unconsciously she took a step away. 

"It's alright. I won't bite," he assured her, well aware of the irony. To put her at ease, he held out his hand. "My name is Jacob Daniels."

Tentatively, she grasped his hand and shook it for a second before releasing. "I'm Christine Lupin," she said quietly.

"I'm Remus!" Remus announced proudly, sticking out his chest and reaching out his hand. Laughing, Jacob took his hand and shook it too, thought admittedly gentler than he had shook his mother's. "I'm five whole years!"

Suddenly, looking into the boy's face, Jacob felt a lurching sense of déjà vu. He knew those eyes…

"When did you say you were bitten?" He asked politely, knowing exactly how out of place he must sound. Next to him, Christine stiffened. 

Remus's face screwed up in concentration. "Last.. Tuesday," he said finally. 

__

Oh, God. "I see," Jacob said quietly. _It can't be_. 

"Did you ever bite anyone, Mister?" Remus asked curiously. With a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, Jacob knew that three weeks from now, his life would change forever… he would never be this carefree or open again.

Jacob cleared his throat, fishing for an answer, when he was interrupted but a female voice. "Lift restored. Now at level 22. Have a nice day!"

Christine immediately dragged Remus out of the lift towards "Werewolf Registration", without so much as an acknowledgement to Jacob. Used to it, he followed the arrows to "Bite Reports". 

He entered the office and seconds later, he had been ushered into a private office and was being interrogated by a wizened old witch. 

"Name?"

"Jacob Daniels."

"Age?"

"34."

"Time/ date of bite?"

"Last Tuesday, around 8 pm," he said, shifting his weight.

"Have you, at any other time, encountered bite victim, and if so, what is his/her name and age?"

"Uh, yes, I think I have met him," Jacob said very quietly. "I think his name is Remus Lupin, and he's five years old."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ten Years Later~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Feeling quite miserable and even more lonely, Remus Lupin climbed into the lift in the Ministry of Magic, and announced that he needed to get to whatever floor had werewolf services on. 

"Level twenty-two in approximately one minute, sir," a female voice said happily.

"Hold the lift!" A voice said. Remus automatically stuck his arm out to hold the door back, and with the motion, his sleeve fell back, revealing a moon-shaped scar. Terrified, he clutched his arm back to his side, but the door stayed open anyway, and a middle-aged man entered the lift and thanked him. Remus looked at the man. He had pure-white hair and a lined face, but he wasn't old. He just looked haunted. But that didn't really matter to him, what did was that the man obviously hadn't noticed his scar. 

Remus breathed a sigh of relief. 

"What floor are you going to, mate?" the man asked.

"22," Remus replied. 

"Small world," the man smiled, and began to whistle. Suddenly the lift jolted to a halt and he cursed. "Damn. Déjà vu all over again." 

"Hmmm?" Remus inquired.

"Damn same thing happened last time I was here, too," the man explained. 

"Oh." Remus paused. "How long did it take last time? I sorta have something I just want to be done with."

"About three minutes," the man assured him. "You'll be where you need to be soon enough. I'm Jacob, by the way, Jacob Daniels," he said in what he assumed was a friendly voice. Remus didn't seem to notice or appreciate it, but he took Jacob's hand and shook it anyway.

"I'm Remus Lupin," he said quietly, his vivid yellow eyes flashing with a dim light. 

Jacob felt as though an electric current had passed through his system. The age was right, the name was right, the eyes were right… "It can't be," he muttered.

"'Scuse me?" Remus said, looking back at him. "What'dyou say?"

"Nothin'," Jacob assured him. he rubbed his shoulder, and instinctively Remus rubbed his arm. 

"Lift restored. Now at level 22. Have a nice day!" He computer chimed. Remus left without another word, but twenty seconds later, found himself in the same line as Jacob: "Confirmation of Ten Years Without A Bite". 

Jacob chuckled humorlessly. "Even smaller world, eh?"

Remus forced a weak smile and didn't even pull that off.

Soon, a young dark-haired Ministry wizard pulled Jacob aside and began quizzing him.

"Ten years since your last bite or ten clean years since your own bite?"

__

Duh. "Ten years since my last bite," Jacob replied quietly, even though he was twice this wizard's age. 

"Do you know the name of your last victim, sir, just for our records?"

Jacob unconsciously looked back at the boy from the lift, who was now rubbing his arm again and looking nervously around.

"Sir?" the wizard prompted. 

"Uh… I think his name was Remus Lupin," Jacob said quietly. He looked back quickly to se if the boy had noticed, but he hadn't. Jacob did however, catch Remus's eyes, and they both smiled weakly. 

"Than you, sir, you're done," the wizard told him, and moved on to Remus. Jacob stood dead still, unsure of if he should say something or not. Finally, he moved over to Remus, patted him on the shoulder, and said gruffly, "Good luck, kid." Then he headed back to the lift, leaving Remus to stare after him.


End file.
